Giving My Kids A Lesson In Charity To Feed It Forward

Maple Leaf Foods is encouraging Canadians to Feed It Forward by nominating someone who supports the community with food. Check out this great idea:

I am the grocery shopper in the house and I bring my boys with me. When they were toddlers, I used it as a way to learn colours. Now, I’m helping them learn math and prices by showing them how much things cost and how to spot a good deal in the store. It’s the perfect father-son time, and a highlight of my week.

It’s also a chance for them to learn how to give back.

My son’s school, as a part of their community studies, made a field trip to the Food Bank this year. They didn’t just wander a warehouse of cans and peanut butter, but they participated.

The kids were divided into groups and given a specific client to shop for. Maybe it was an elderly couple, maybe a single person, maybe a family. They had to go around the aisles and find items to build a healthy basket of food for the client.

It’s the perfect “game” for 8 year olds at a Food Bank. The kids learn charity, they learn diet, they learn about the different people in our community, and they learn to Feed It Forward.

Now, when I bring the kids to do the groceries with me on the weekend, we make an effort to pick up something extra, for a child like them, and drop it in the food bank hamper near the exit.

How do you #FeedItForward?

Maple Leaf’s Feed it Forward contest gives you a chance to #FeedItForward and give back to the organizations and volunteers that have made a deep impact on your life through food support and skill building.

Nominate someone who has gone above-and-beyond to use good food to better the lives of others and is helping to feed your community.

They could receive a $10,000 donation towards their organization and enjoy free Maple Leaf groceries for a year. And just by nominating them you could have the opportunity to receive free Maple Leaf groceries for a year.

Conditions:The nominee must volunteer with or work for a registered not-for-profit organization or community group (kids camp, community drop-in centre, school nutrition program, etc.) that uses food as a key component of supporting their program goals.

The organization or community group must rely on donations for the majority of their operating costs. They cannot be registered businesses or for-profit companies.

The organization must have a clearly defined strategy, vision or program for how it uses food to improve people’s lives through, but not limited to, nourishment and skill building (nutrition education, meals and food hamper delivery, cooking and food preparation skills, etc.)

The nominee must have a deep commitment to the organization based on either their years of service, contributions to advancing the organization’s food program or service delivery, commitment to go-above-and beyond to their defined roles and responsibilities.Number and Distribution of Prizes:A maximum of ten (10) Prizes (each with a retail value of approximately $10,000) are available to be won. One (1) of these Prizes is available to be won by an eligible resident of Quebec. The remaining nine (9) Prizes are available to be won by eligible residents of other Canadian provinces and territories, namely, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Maximum of one (1) Prize per Nominee. Entrants do not receive Prizes or any other form of compensation.

This blog post was sponsored by Maple Leaf Foods but the opinions are completely my own based on my experience.